Braid or cord positioning device for sewing machines



Jul 31, 1951 A G FERRIS 2,562,780

BRAID OR CO RD POSITIONING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Aug. 1, 1949Gttornegs Patented July 31, 1951 BRAID R CORD POSITION ING DEVICE FORSEWING MACHINES Albert G. Ferris, SeattleQWash.

Application August 1, 1949,.Serial No. 107,898

Thispresent invention relates to sewing-ma chine attachments and moreparticularly toan attachment intended for use with the'usual presserfoot and it is so arranged that it accurately positions the cord crbraid and at the same time secures the attachment in accurate position,even though there be some variation in the exact construction of thepresser feet with .which it.

is used.

A large number of attachments have been;

provided for sewing machines in-the past, having as their purpose thepositioning ofcord or braid and to assist in the sewing of the same inplace As a general rule these devices do on material. not adequatelyserve their intended purpose. In the first place, it is essential that adevice of this-orderbe accurately positioned with respect to the line ofstitching so that it in turn can accurately position the cord or braidbut as sewing machines habitually last a long time, theminor changesmade, even in standard lines of production, are'such that no one form ofobserved attachment will adequately adjust :to insure a definiteandaccuratepositioning of the positioning device. In -thepresent invention,it is believed that this objection has been overcome and a deviceproduced that is very simple to make, and, which can only be secured ona presser-foot 1 in an accurately positioned manner.- i Y The principalobject of this present invention therefore is to provide an inexpensivebraiding attachment, which isadaptable for use with the conventionpresser-foot found on the average sewing machine.

A further object of this invention is to provide a braiding attachmentwhichis resilientlyselfa' centered in the needle slot'of a presser foot,so as- Z'Claims; (01. 112-139):

to insure its accurate positioning-at all times and thus make itpossible to accurately stitch braidin place.

A further object of this present invention is to provide a braidingattachment'for'the conventional'presser foot, which in no way.interferes with the normal functioning of the presser foot, or the feedmechanism disposed immediately below it, and which is so constructedthat the braid or cord can be very quickly threaded through the same, andthen because of its-ability to selfcenter itself on the presser foot andits resilient clamp arrangement; it can be easily secured on the presserfoot Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent fromthe description and disclosure in the drawings, or: may'be'jcomprehendedor are inherent in the device. I

Inthedrawings: fl: i

Y Figure l is a perspectiv e view of a conventional sewing machinepresser foot and needle assembly showing this present invention securedon the presser foot.

;.Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken in'the I plane of line 2-2 ofFigure 1. Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken.

along the stitching axis of a conventional sewing machine. 7 1 I Figure4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the underside of a presserfoot, with the cordingattachment shown generally in the positionofthreading the braid through thedevice, preparatory to assembling theunit for use with certain parts being shown in section.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, thenumeral l0 designates a conventional form of presser-foot, which is heldin position and actuated by means of the presser bar lifter l2.Associated with the presser-foot is the sewing machine needle (4,positioned by the mechanism of the sewing machine for verticalreciprocation and passing through the presserfoot slot [6. Normallydisposed immediately be-. low the area covered by the horizontal portionof the presser-foot, as 18, is theratchet feed, all of these elementsbeing conventional and sup plied with the usual sewing machine.Experience has proven that any attachment to function with ease andexactness should not disturb any of these elements and their functionalrelationship with each other, and as a consequence this presentinvention is so arranged as to use all of these elements without, in anyway, modifying their functions. This present attachment is formed,preferably, of a single piece of resilient sheet stock, of thin enoughgauge so that the resilient character of the material can be fully madeuse of. The attachment is fully secured to the angularly dis;

posed portion of the presser-foot, which normally consists of the twoleg elements, as 20f and 2!. Theattachment' is provided with adownwardly extending f eed portion 30, whichforms a centerf ingmeans forthe attachmentfand, also a guide for the braid or. cord.

To properly perform its intended function this guide and centering meansmust have very appreciable extent longitudinally of the stitching plane.It is then provided with the flat top'portions as 32 and 33, extendingon opposite sides of the V portion 30, and extending outwardly therefromsu'fliciently to fully over-lay any of the conventional presser-feet.These members are then, turned downwardly to provide the side- Walls as35 and 36, and then have iii-turned or reversebent portions, as 38 and40. The inside spacing between walls 32 and 38, and 33 and" are normallythe same, and should be slightly in excess of the thickness of tongues20 and-2L. These various parts have a definite co action among them,first of all, V 30 must have suiiicient transverse extent so that itwill bear on the inner margins of tongues 20 and 2| or, in other Words,be sufiiciently extended so that the V will never fully seat withingroove Hi. This will mean that the inner surfaces of legs 32 and 33normallywill not bear upon tongues 20 and 2|, but that the innersurfaces of the inturned ends 38 and 40 will be in resilient contactwith the bottom surfaces of tongues 20 and 2! after the" showing ofFigure 2, and thus definite positioning The V must is provided for theattachment. have considerable longitudinal extentso that it willaccurately position the V in slot [6, and then, due to the resiliency ofthe material of which the.

attachment is made, the V is secured in the slot I6, by the reaction ofthe inner surfaces of ends 38 and 40. It will follow that, normally, theinner' surfaces of the vertical portion 35 and 36' will not bear ontongues '20 and 2 L This is an'optimum condition which shouldbe'achieved in order that, on one hand, th'e'device will fit'a largenumber of slightly modified presser-feet, and on the other hand, it canbeeasily removed and replaced with the assurance that ateveryreplacement,"

the V'will come to rest at the sameposition and accurately align thebraid or cord with the travel of needle H.

In order to provide an adequate guide for braid Bfth braid must restwithin V 30, as is shown throughout th various views, and it must beretained generally therein, by means which'per m'it the easy insertionand removal of the device may be obscured or lost.

As a keeper for braid B, there is provided the generally horizontallydisposed plate or keeper 42';which extends well over the center of V 30,

as will'be noted probably best in Figure 2, and

then has a vertical portion as 44, which finally terminates in a secondsubstantially horizontal portion 46 forming a foot plate. Thisarrangement provides a-definite keeper for braid B, and

it 'prov'ides in the member 46, an additional preliminary presser-foot,so as to smooth out any large wrinkles in the material to which thebraid is being secured-j It also serves as a safeguard fol-any materialswhich might otherwise becometangled in the 'braider, and for this reasonithas' been found desirable that the auxiliary presser plate 46be-disposed appreciably below the bottomjof the normal presser-foottongues 29 and 2 I. The second purpose of the braid keeper-is to providea convenient means of threading the braid through the attachment. Thisis achieved by the spacing of plate 42, from plate 32 by' a slot 48, ofa'width normally greater than any ofthe braid or cord that may be usedwith the With such an arrangement-it will be j use on the presser footand the operator is ready to proceed with the stitching.- Any time itis'de sirable to withdraw the cord from-the device; a reversal of thisprocedure effects the operation very conveniently. With the braid Bentered in slot I6 and extending upwardly, it can easily be threadedinto using position with place on the presser foot.

- It will be apparent, it'is believed fromthe fore-a the device in goingdescription and by a perusal of the accompanying drawings, that anattachment is provided which is simple in use, is resiliently adaptableto a wide range of presser-feet'and which is automaticallycentered andlocked on the foot in the accurately aligned position required forproper operation.

What I claim is:

LA cording and braiding attachment for use on the presser foot of asewing machine, consisting of; a single piece of resilient metal havingan axially aligned positioning and guiding V, with a cord receivingportion, disposed with the open side of said V uppermost; substantiallyhorizontal top plates extending outwardly from each side of said V;"downwardly directed side plates continuing from said top plates;inwardly directed clamp plates continuing from said side plates,disposed parallel to -said top plates; said clamp plates adapted toco-act with said V to position said attac'm'nent to a presser foot andsecure it thereto;

a-keeper, disposed in longitudinal spaced relationshiptosaid V, havingatop portion in the same plane as said top plates and extendingtransversely beyond the cord receiving portion of said V; a downwardlypositioned extension of said i keeper anda foot plate secured to saidkeeper extension and disposed parallel to said clamp platesand belowthe'plane of said clamp plates.

2. A cording and braiding attachment for use onthe slotted presser footof a sewing machine, consistingof: a single piece of resilient metalhaving an axially aligned positioning and guiding V, with a cordreceiving portion, disposed with the open'side of said v uppermost; saidv having greatertransverse width than the slot in the presser foot it isassociated with; substantially horizontal top plates, extendingoutwardly from each side of said V; downwardly directed sideplatescontinuingfrom said side plates; inwardly directed clamp platescontinuing from said side plates, disposed parallel to said top plates;said clamp platesadapted to co-act with said V to position saidattachment to a presser foot and secure itthereto; a keeper, disposed inlongitudinal 'spaced relationship to said V thereby providingtherebetween a transverse'slot, having a top portion-in the same planeas said top plates and extending transversely beyond the cord receivingportion of saidV a downwardly positioned extension of said keeper and afoot plate secured to said keeper extension and disposed parallel tosaid clamp platesand below the plane of, said clamp.

plates.

ALBERT G. FERRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record inthe file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number- Name Date 101,446 Eck Apr. 5, 1870 507,489Douglas Oct. 24, 1893 614,398 Laubscher Nov. 15, 1898 1,518,659 JohnsonDec. 9, 1924" 1,622,171 Anthony Mar. 22, 1927 1,685,194 Forseth Sept.25,1928

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 298,065 Great Britain of 1928

